New Touchstone Track on MySpace

Started by gr8gonzo, April 06, 2009, 03:44:56 PM

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Rob Cott

Sorry Gr8gonzo - I haven't the foggiest, but either will do. :)

MikeEvs

A good few Frost*ies in attendance at Touchstone's gig at The Horn in St Albans on Saturday night link to my pics below:

Touchstone Live at The Horn

Pedro

....and a stonking gig it was too....

Quote from: "....on the Touchstone forum I"....and my thanks to you and the guys in the band. You couldn't have delivered a better birthday event for Mrs and Miss Pedro....except maybe to solve the problem of big bloke with little wife and daughter who want to stand together and be able to watch the band without one or other of us blocking and/or being blocked by other people!  :)

I tried as best I could to not be 6' 5" but you can only curl-up vertically by so much for a limited time (my back/knees are killing me today)! So, sorry to anyone I was in the way of...we tried to hang back but the push forward would have meant K and C seeing nothing at all and I couldn't abandon them to "the pit" on their birthday/eve.

Anyway, I thought everyone played a blinder. Initially wondered who the guy was that was setting up Mellors' drums for him....then it dawned that this was a very trim and fur-lined version of the man himself. I loved the way the set opened (trying to comply with the idea of not spoliing things for RoSFesters!), couldn't stop watching yon tub-thumper hammering away - it's so engaging the way he gets in to it!

Sooo good to see Moo firing on all cylinders again and so obviously enjoying being "back in the office". Even cheekily toying with the nightmare notion of cracking Elkie one with his bass headstock! I felt like shifting her mic stand a foot to her left just to avoid me wondering where the first aid kit was every now and again!

Speaking of "cracking Elkie"....she's good isn't she? The development of her "front-person" role continues apace and she seems to be really enjoying it. To my ears, there's some challenging stuff in the new material and she does well with it. IMHO it's never easy for the crowd to take-in new material in the live setting and I much prefer to have done my homework ahead of times. On this occasion I had heard a couple of tracks before (the ClassicRock download and the previously performed track) and both came over very, very well.

Adam's always so understated when he plays, one gets so used to the flamboyant nature/style of other guitar gods, it's quite a different experience when this gent plays....all the same power, intricate soloing, etc. are there...just without the windmilling arms and foot-on-monitor stance.  Makes a nice change and also contrasts well with "anim-Al" on the drums.  ;)

The Lord of Cott himself looked quite different on stage with just the one board (Kurzweil PC3) ....seemed to allow him to relax a bit more without the constant peering at the downstairs keyboard to check settings etc. The new Kurzweil must be better suited to gigging than the three boards of old.

So, yes, I'd agree....you are back....and not too soon either.  :D

Can't wait for the next chance to enjoy the new material...having done my revision first of course!

Thanks again and hugs all round!

Curious to know if Cotters' single board experience leads to the same sound-guy-hates-it problems that Jem encountered?

If what I have now hear is anything to go by, the new CD is a great follow-up to Discordant Dreams! Order it now! :D
"Putting food on the table is more important than 7/8"

Tricky

Was it just me or was it just a little bit too loud? (I must be getting old  :( )
I could hardly hear Rob's keys even when Adam wasn't going at full blast, and Elkie was getting a bit swamped rather too often.  I think it's a problem with the venue; I've heard it said before that The Horn doesn't cope well with a "big" sound.  In contrast, the Harringtons (support act), sounded quite "clean"

Still, I enjoyed the gig and was pleased to see some Frosties (again)
Best of luck to Rob and the band for RoSFEST  :)
When the future\'s looking dark, we\'re the ones who have to shine...

MikeEvs

I think my ears agree with you Tricky but my own fault really standing that close to the speaker I really should have worn ear plugs

Tricky

Quote from: "MikeEvs"I think my ears agree with you Tricky but my own fault really standing that close to the speaker I really should have worn ear plugs

But that's where you have to be to get those excellent photos  ;)
When the future\'s looking dark, we\'re the ones who have to shine...

MikeEvs

Quote from: "Tricky"
Quote from: "MikeEvs"I think my ears agree with you Tricky but my own fault really standing that close to the speaker I really should have worn ear plugs

But that's where you have to be to get those excellent photos  ;)

I know and I do it so often you'd have thought that I'd have learned by now to protect my ears :!:

Pedro

Maybe I was in some kind of "sweet-spot"....or the extra altitude my ears enjoy was signiificant?

I wasn't that far from Mike but I think I got a fairly good mix and while it was undeniably *loud*, it wasn't *too* loud for me (said the man with knackered ears!). Elkie's voice did appear to be a little faint in places but I think I only thought this during new songs so it's hard to say if that is the fault of the sound guy, the venue or maybe the composition - deliberate or otherwise (e.g. it's hard to belt out some parts of the vocal range).

I have to confess to getting a little browned-off at times by the antics of the small clutch of bods in front of us to the right - who couldn't seem to go more than 3.5 minutes without one of them deciding to take a picture of the others, usually including themselves in the shots too. This meant a lot of view-intrusive leaning one-way or the other, holding cameras out at arm's length in order to get about 4 dozen pictures consisting of 2, 3 or 4 flash-illuminated faces in a darkened room. They could have stayed at home, turned out the lights and acheived the same effect.... Turns out at least one of them was an old friend of Elkie's and we had a brief and nice chat afterwards in which he said they really enjoyed the night....ah, the youth of today, eh? ;)  

Great pics, Mike - still wizarding that light!  :)
"Putting food on the table is more important than 7/8"

JamesA

I thought there was too much bass, which is something I have encountered at The Horn every time I have been there, and it tends to drown some of the other parts.  Having spoken with Moo and Adam after the last time they played there, Adam agreed with me, but Moo did not  :roll:

Did not detract from a brilliant performance, though.  Could not wait for the album before, and certainly cannot wait now !!!

Rob Cott

Guys
I can only comment on foldback mix, and that was very loud - at times distorting - but we can never tell what the sound is like 'out there'. I get the impression it was tending towards the 'too loud' side of life for the size of venue, but that on balance it didn't detract from a great night. :D

If it makes anyone feel any better the sound guy spoke to me after to apologise for not switching off the intro track! He also said that he didn't think he would be 'into' our stuff but that by the end of the gig - he was a convert - he luvved it. Which was nice.  :mrgreen:

So - on that basis  - I think we can forgive him his 'sound sins'! ;)